MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 1983
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$1.75-BILLION PROJECT TO MEET WATER DEMAND
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AN EXTENSIVE 12-YEAR CONSTRUCTION PROJECT TO RECEIVE AND DISTRIBUTE ADDITIONAL WATER SUPPLY FROM CHINA IS GOING FULL STEAM AHEAD.
THE $1.75-BILLION PROJECT, THE LARGEST WATER WORKS PROJECT SO FAR CARRIED OUT IN HONG KONG, IS TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN THREE STAGES TO MEET ANTICIPATED INCREASES IN WATER CONSUMPTION IN THE FUTURE YEARS.
IT INVOLVES THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEVEN PUMPING STATIONS AND 32 KILOMETRES OF TUNNELS PLUS THE LAYING OF 31 KILOMETRES OF PIPELINES.
THE $724.5-MILLION STAGE ONE SCHEME COMPRISES 12 MAJOR CONTRACTS, SEVEN OF WHICH HAVE BEEN COMPLETED AND THE REST ARE IN PROGRESS.
THE LARGEST ELEMENT IN STAGE ONE IS A $220-MILLION CONTRACT FOR BUILDING A MASSIVE AQUEDUCT SYSTEM FROM MUK WU TO TAI LAM CHUNG IN THE WESTERN NEW TERRITORIES.
+UPON COMPLETION BY EARLY 1985, THE SYSTEM WILL COMPRISE 14 KILOMETRES OF TUNNELS LARGE ENOUGH FOR INSPECTION VEHICLES TO PASS THROUGH, A FOUR-KILOMETRE ACCESS ROAD AND A 5.5 KILOMETRE PIPELINE OF 2.2 METRES IN DIAMETER, THE LARGEST EVER USED IN HONG KONG, SAID MR AU MAN-YIU, THE WATER SUPPLIES DEPARTMENT'S ACTING CHIEF ENGINEER RESPONSIBLE FOR RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT.
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THE SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL CAPACITY OF 910 000 CUBIC METRES DAILY TO THE WESTERN REGION OF THE NEW TERRITORIES, DELIVERING WATER FROM CHINA TO THE TAI LAM CHUNG RESERVOIR.
+DUE TO THE SHEER SIZE OF THE SCHEME, TUNNELS ARE USED WHEREVER PRACTICABLE, TO KEEP DISTURBANCE TO THE LAND SURFACE TO THE MINIMUM,+ MR AU EXPLAINED.
AS THESE TUNNELS MUST BE DRIVEN THROUGH DIFFERENT SOIL AND ROCK FORMATIONS, ADVANCED GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING MUST BE APPLIED.
IN FISCAL YEAR 1982-83. WATER SUPPLIED BY CHINA ACCOUNTED FOR SOME 40 PER CENT OF HONG KONG'S CONSUMPTION.
UNDER AN AGREEMENT SIGNED IN 1980, WATER SUPPLY FROM CHINA FROM 1983 ONWARDS WILL INCREASE ANNUALLY, RAISING THE CURRENT SUPPLY OF 182 MILLION CUBIC METRES A YEAR BY EQUAL INCREMENTS TO 620 MILLION CUBIC METRES. THE QUANTITY FROM THIS SOURCE WILL THUS BE MORE THAN TREBLED OVER THE NEXT 12 YEARS TO MEET RISING NEEDS INTO THE NEXT DECADE, MR AU SAID.